1) Practice self-controlEmpathy (imagining yourself in someone else’s shoes) is a precursor to altruistic behavior. Brain imaging research has recently report that empathy is linked to self-control in the the brain (right temporoparietal junction; rTPJ). What does this mean? Researchers speculate that self-control is a “kind of temporal selflessness”. The Present You” makes a decision to help Future You.

2. Find a communityIn my own research at UNF, we found that when people had a general sense of belonging in their community, they were more likely to show prosocial (showing concern for others, etc), even in their online social media behaviors (example: they were more likely to engage positively with social media posts rather than argumentatively).